Robert Redford is sleeping in his yacht when he hits something. The only dialogue happens in a brief voice over at the start of the film where he tells someone he is sorry and tells them that he did his best, for what that’s worth.
What at first appears to be minor damage soon leads us from one disaster to another. While our hero has all the skills he needs to survive, his will to live is sorely tested.
We watch for eight days, never seeing him away from peril, feeling his depression as he runs out of water, faces a shark, becomes parched and sunburned, and all his hopes of rescue are dashed.
It’s a visually stunning film and the final minutes are heart breaking and amazing.
There are still plenty of things to complain about. His boat is equipped with everything imaginable, except a lifevest. The yacht is wrecked in a storm. Uh, really? Do people usually sail these things only when it’s calm and sunny? Can anyone with a Sextant and a children’s book on sailing determine their location in the middle of the Indian Ocean? And what are the odds that his original accident would destroy all of his electronics?
Well, none of that stuff really matters. Since when do we expect movies to accurately reflect reality? It was an emotionally gripping story and that’s what was important.
